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money and financial problems

Law about consumer financial problems

Acceleration clause

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Definition

A term in a loan agreement that requires the borrower to pay off the loan immediately under certain conditions.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

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Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA): A Brief Overview of Federal Law

A creditor may seek to collect an outstanding debt in several ways. For example, the creditor may attempt to collect the debt through direct communications with the debtor, by filing a lawsuit against the debtor, by seeking to take possession of or to sell property securing the debt, or by hiring a debt collection service. Faced with “abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors,” 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a), in 1978, Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.

Welfare

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Welfare Law: an overview

In the United States, welfare benefits for individuals and families with no or low income had been almost non-existent prior to the Great Depression of the 1930s. With millions of people unemployed, the federal government saw income security as a national problem.

Landlord-Tenant Law

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landlord-tenant law: an overview

Landlord-tenant law governs the rental of commercial and residential property. It is composed primarily of state statutory and common law. A number of states have based their statutory law on either the Uniform Residential Landlord And Tenant Act (URLTA) or the Model Residential Landlord-Tenant Code. Federal statutory law may be a factor in times of national/regional emergencies and in preventing forms of discrimination.

Debtor and creditor

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debtor and creditor: an overview

Debtor-creditor law governs situations where one party is unable to pay a monetary debt to another. There are three types of creditors. First are those who have a lien against a particular piece of property. This property (or proceeds from its sale) must be used to satisfy the debt to the lien-creditor before it can be used to satisfy debts to other creditors. A lien may arise through statute, agreement between the parties, or judicial proceedings. See, e.g., Secured Transactions and Mortgages. Secondly, a creditor may have a priority interest. A priority arises through statutory law. If a creditor has a priority his debt must be paid when the debtor becomes insolvent before other debts. For example, Congress has granted priority to debts owed the Federal government. See Federal Tax Lien Act. The final type of creditor is one who has neither a lien against the debtor's property or is the subject of a statutory priority.

Bankruptcy

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bankruptcy: an overview

Bankruptcy law provides for the development of a plan that allows a debtor, who is unable to pay his creditors, to resolve his debts through the division of his assets among his creditors. This supervised division also allows the interests of all creditors to be treated with some measure of equality. Certain bankruptcy proceedings allow a debtor to stay in business and use revenue generated to resolve his or her debts. An additional purpose of bankruptcy law is to allow certain debtors to free themselves (to be discharged) of the financial obligations they have accumulated, after their assets are distributed, even if their debts have not been paid in full.

Consumer credit

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consumer credit: an overview

Credit allows consumers to finance transactions without having to pay the full cost of the merchandise at the time of the transaction. A common form of consumer credit is a credit card account issued by a financial institution. Merchants may also provide direct financing for products which they sell. Banks may directly finance purchases through loans and mortgages.

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